Auxiliary color fountain for web printing presses



Dec. 11, 1934. w J, MQRRISQN r- 1,983,987

AUXILIARY canon FOUNTAIN FORIWEVB PRINTING PRESSES Filed Oct. 31, 1933 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I Patented Dec. 11, 1934 PATENT OFFICE AUXILIARY COLOR FOUNTAIN FOR WEB PRINTING PRESSES William J. Morrison, Lakewood, and Grover C. Spicer, Lyndhurst Village, Ohiofassignors to The Cleveland Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a-

corporation of Ohio Application October 31, 1933, Serial No. 696,052

8 Claims.

This invention relates, as indicated, to auxiliary color fountains for printing presses; but has reference more particularly to fountains of this character which are especially adapted for use in connection with existing newspaper printing presses.

Modern newspaper printing presses are adapted to print on'rolls of paper which are four pages wide, the ink for the printing forms or plates l0. being pumped from suitable storage tanks to an ink rail through which the ink is forced, issuing through longitudinally spaced perforations against an axially vibrating cylinder. In some cases, the ink is supplied to the cylinder from a fountain which is a more or less permanent fixture of the press. The ink is transferred from this cylinder to the plate cylinder through the intermediary of a series of vibrating rollers. In large newspaper printing establishments, 2. separate press is employed for the colored sections of the Sunday newspapers, so that no occasion ordinarily arises for supplying anything but black ink to the aforesaid ink rail or fixed fountain of the daily press.

Recently, however, there has been a tendency to inject a little color into the daily paper, and for. this purpose it has heretofore been necessary to thoroughly clean the ink rail or fixed fountain, a task requiring considerable time and patience,

30 as well as large quantities of expensive cleaning fluids. After the rail or fountain has been cleaned, ink of the desired color is supplied thereto, but it is to be noted that when colored ink is applied to the paper 'in this manner, no other 35 color can ordinarily be applied to the traveling paper by the plates which are supplied with ink by the rail or fountain in question. Consequently, recalling that the roll of paper is four pages wide, when, as is ordinarily the case, it is 49 desired to apply color to only one of the pages, it is impossible, when the rail or fountain is employed, to apply black ink or ink of any other color to adjacent sheets, so that the remaining portion of the plate cylinder must, in a manner 45 of speaking, remain idle. 1 A primary object of the present invention, ac-

cordingly, is to avoid the labor and waste of cleaning fluids incidental to the use of existing vink rails and fountains for applying color to daily newspapers. to provide an auxiliary color fountain which may be quickly and easily attached to and removed from the press, and the use of which will enable the use of the ink rail or fixed fountain to be dispensed with and the disadvantages incidental Another object of the invention is,

to the use of such ink rails or fountains for color application to be obviated.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detail certain structure embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various structural forms in which the principle of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view, illustrating more or less diagrammatically and in side elevation a unit of a newspaper printing press; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the right hand side of the press unit, as viewed from the right in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end elevation, on an enlarged scale, of one of the auxiliary color fountains; Fig. 4 is an end elevation, on an enlarged scale, of the driving mechanism for the fountain roller; Fig. 5 is a front view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of the color fountain of Fig. 3 and driving mechanism for the roller thereof; Figs. 6 and '7 are views, similar to Fig. 3, but showing modifications of the color fountain.

Referring more particularly to that form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive, a

newspaper printing press unit of a well-known construction, comprises an ink rail 1 which is provided at its forward upper edge 2 with a series of longitudinally spaced perforations (not shown). The ink rail is movable towards and away from an axially vibrating cylinder 3, and in normal operating position, the edge 2 of the ink rail is in wiping contact with the cylinder 3, so that black ink which is supplied to the ink rail from any suitable source is transferred to this cylinder, fromlwhich, in turn, it is transferred by contact through vibrating intermediate roller 4, cylinder 5 and from rollers 6 to the plate cylinder 7 from which the impression is made by plates 8 on one side of the traveling paper 9. The plate cylinder '7 is adapted to receive four plates, each of the approximate Width of a newspaper page, so that one entire side of the paper. 9 may be printed in a single operation.

When it is desired to apply color to even a small portion of one of the pages of the paper, it becomes necessary to move the ink rail out of contact with the cylinder 3 and thoroughly clean the same. These operations involve a great deal of tedious labor and require large quantities of cleaning fluids. When colored ink is then applied to a small portion of a single'page, ink of no other color can be supplied to the ink rail so that the remaining portion of the plate cylinder must perforce remain idle.

In accordance with the present invention, we provide one or more fountains or wells adapted to receive ink of any desired color and each of which comprises a sloping bottom 10, rear wall 11 and end walls 12 and 13, the end walls being interconnected by means of a strengthening bar 14. Journalled in the end walls and projecting to a slight extent out of the open front of the well is a metallic roller 15. The thickness of ink on the roller 15 is adapted to be controlled or regulated by means of a ductor blade 16, which is mounted in a recessed portion of the bottom 10 of the well and extends substantially the entire length of the well, the adjustment of the blade being accomplished by means of a plurality of adjusting screws 17 which extend through the bottom of the well and are secured at their forward ends to integral bosses 18 formed on the lower surface of the blade 16.

Extending downwardly from the bottom 10 of the well adjacent the ends thereof are lugs 19 which are secured as vby pivot screws 20 to upstanding lugs 21 of supporting members 22. The members 22 are slidably mounted on the end bearing portions 23 of a base plate 24. Adjustment of the roller 15 towards and away from roller i is accomplished by means of screws 25 which are mounted on upstanding brackets 26 of the base plate 24 and are in threaded engagement with the supporting members 22. After the desired adjustment has been made, the members 22 are clamped to the bearing portions 23 of the base plate 24. by means of bolts 27 and nuts 28, the bolts having heads movable in T-slots 29.

'Pivotal movement between the lugs 19 and 21 is normally prevented by means of shear pins 30 which interconnect these lugs. In case of undue pressure between rollers 15 and 4-, the shear pins 30 will break and relieve the pressure, thereby preventing breakage of vital parts.

When one or more of the color fountains is to be used, the ink rail 1 is moved back from the cylinder 3 about an inch. If, for example, color is to be applied to the first sheet on the left, as viewed in Fig. 2, the fountain shown in solid lines is secured in proper position by means of one or more C-clamps 31 which embrace the base plate 24 and the ink rail 1. A flange 32 on the base plate 24 is of assistance in quickly securing an approximately parallel alignment of the roller 15 with the roller 4:.

Means are also provided for positively driving the roller 15. Such means includes a pinion which is mounted on one end of the shaft 41 of cylinder 5 and is in mesh with a gear 42 mounted on a stub shaft 43 journalled in the roll housing 44. Shaft 43 has also mounted thereon a sprocket 45 which drives a chain 46, which in turn drives a sprocket .7 mounted on a stub shaft 48 journalled in a gear housing 49. Shaft 48 has also mounted thereon a pinion gear 50 which is in mesh with a. larger gear 51. Gear 51 is provided with an enlarged hub 52 having a centrally disposed square socket adapted to receive one end of a connector bar 53 of square cross-section, the opposite end of this bar being received in a square socket 54 in the end of the roller 15, the roller 15 being also provided in its opposite end with such a socket. The housneeaee'r ing 49 has secured to its base as by a bolt 55, a Z-shaped member 56, whereby the driving mechanism may be securely clamped to the ink rail in proper driving relation with both the sprocket 45 and roller 15, as by means of a U-clamp 57. The housing 49 has pivotally mounted thereon an idler roller carrier 58 provided with idler rollers 59 over which the chain 46 may run. The carrier 58 has an arcuate slot 60 into which a pin 61 extends, so that pivotal movement of the carrier is limited to two extreme positions, determined by the length of the slot 60. When the driving mechanism is to be used for the right side of the press unit, as viewed in Fig. 1, the carrier 58 is moved to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 4, but it will be noted that the driving mechanism may also be employed without reversal of position, at the left hand side of the press unit, as viewed in Fig. 1 in which case the carrier 58 is simply moved to its other extreme position, as shown at the left side of Fig. l. The driving unit is thus of a compact portable nature and may be quickly and easily secured in proper operative position. When the driving unit is employed at the left hand side of the press, it will be understood that the connector bar is received in the socket 54 which is in the right end of the roller 15, as viewed in Fig. 5, so that both the fountains and driving mechanism may be used at either side of the press unit.

If ink of the same color is to be applied to all four pages of the paper 9, additional fountains 70, 71 and '72 are provided and clamped to the ink rail 1 with the axes of their rollers in alignment with the axis of roller 15 of the first fountain, and in such case, short connector bars similar to bar 53 are employed to interconnect the rollers so that all of the rollers may be driven from the same driving mechanism as shown in Fig. 2.

Owing to the fact that there would result a slight overlapping of the colors if inks of different colors were employed in all four fountains or in any two adjacent fountains, it is not practical to employ inks of different colors in adjacent fountains, but different colors may be applied to alternate pages, in which case the fountains alternating with such pages may be removed from the ink rail and longer interconnecting bars used for driving the rollers of the remaining fountains. Without attempting to enumerate the various possible combinations of fountains which may be employed, it will be readily apparent that by using separate removable fountains of the character described for each of the four pages of the paper, a considerable degree of flexibility is secured.

In that form of the invention shown in Fig. 6, the vibrating roller 4 is dispensed with and a roller 80 mounted on bracket bearings 81 secured to the upper edges of the end walls 12 and 13 of the fountain. The roller 80 is made of rubber or of a composition embodying glycerine, glue and the like, so that it may be frictionally driven by the roller 15, applying the ink freely and evenly to the cylinder 5.

In that form of the invention shown in Fig. '7, the ink is applied directly to the cylinder 5 through the intermediary of a cylindrical brush 90, which is mounted on the fountain in the same manner as the roller 80 in Fig. 6, but in this case the brush shaft has mounted thereon at one end a pinion 91, whereby the brush may be positively rotated as by a gear 92 aflixed to an extension 93 of the hub of roller 15.

Although these fountains may be used to replace the ink rail or other inking device on the press, they are intended primarily as auxiliary inking devices, to be employed only when color is to be applied to one or more pages of the paper which is traveling through the press. By the use of such fountains, all of the labor and waste of cleaning fluids incidental to the use of existing ink rails is avoided and certain other advantages to which reference has already been made are obtained.

Other modes of applying the principle of our invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the structure herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

We therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as our invention:

1. The combination with a printing press having an ink rail movable into and out of ink supplying relation with said press of anauxiliary ink fountain mounted adjacent said press and adapted to supply ink to said press when said ink rail is out of ink-supplying relation with said press.

2. The combination with. a printing press having an ink rail movable into and out of ink supplying relation with said press of an auxiliary ink fountain removably secured to said ink rail and adapted to supply ink to said press when said ink rail is out of ink supplying relation with said press.

3. The combination with a printing press having an ink rail movable into and out of ink supplying relation with said press of an auxiliary ink fountain removably secured to said ink rail, and means for moving said fountain towards and away from said press.

4. The combination with a printing press having an ink rail movable into and out of ink supplying relation with said press of a plurality of auxiliary ink fountains removably mounted on said rail and adapted to supply ink to said press when said ink rail is out of ink supplying relation with said press.

5. The combination with a printing press and driving mechanism therefor of an ink rail movable into and out of ink-supplying relation with said press, an auxiliary fountain removably secured to said rail adapted to supply ink to said press when said ink rail is out of ink supplying relation with said press, an ink-supplying roller in said fountain, and means operable by said press, driving mechanism for driving said roller.

6. The combination with a printing press having an ink rail movable into and out of ink supplying relation with said press of a plurality of auxiliary ink fountains removably mounted on said rail and adapted to supply ink to said press an inking roller journalled therein, and means may be rotated in unison.

8. An auxiliary ink fountain for printing presses and the like comprising a well having an inking roller journalled therein, supports for said well, means for pivotally connecting the well to its supports, a base plate on which said supports are slidably mounted, and means for moving said supports relatively to said base plates.

WILLIAM J. MORRISON. GROVER C. SPICER. 

